




Me: What’s going on? Dave is walking around with the luxury dog bed cushion.
Nell: I know. I’m afraid we’re in the middle of a hostage situation and Demands need to be met.
Me: Hostage situation? What’s happened?
Nell: It seems that swinging nonchalantly on a trapeze over a treehouse isn’t as easy as we thought.
Me: Oh dear. Did whoever is hiding up there notice?
Nell: He couldn’t fail to notice when Gladys fell on his head.
Me: Oh no.
Nell: In fact he let out an enormous roar.
Me: I wondered what that was. So when you say ‘he’ and ‘roar’ I’m guessing it is Lionel King.
Nell: It certainly is and he is Making Demands.
Me: What a bad lion.
Nell: Fortunately Sally has arrived with Beauregard and Oliver and is handling the situation.
Me: What Demands is he making?
Nell: Bacon sandwiches, a flask of tea, Poppy’s scones with jam and cream and a soft bed.
Me: That’s extremely demanding.
Nell: Yes.
Me: Sally isn’t going to let Dave take it all up there, is she? Only he got stuck in the treehouse before and I simply can’t bear to think of him trapped up a tree with a demanding lion.
Nell: Good grief.
Me: He’s my Big Brave Beautiful Boy.
Nell: David is not going up there. And neither is Alejandro.
Me: Alpacas can’t climb trees. Why does he want to?
Nell: Gladys is the love of his life.
Me: Oh yes.
Nell: But Sally is having none of it. The only animal capable of a dangerous mission like this is…
Me: Beauregard the tiger?
Nell: No. Oliver the opossum with Henry the woodlouse as his guide.
Me: That’s a terrible idea, Nell.
Nell: Just wait and see. Sally has a plan.
Me: Yes. Sorry.